Jobless make TV ads to lure employers in UK

After sending resumes, attending networking events and blogging about her search for employment, Dinsmore joined a small but growing number of unemployed people who have made television commercials about themselves to try to get directly into prospective employers' living rooms.

Jayna Dinsmore dressed in a sharp pink blouse and black slacks and made the pitch she hoped would end her five months of unemployment: Experienced marketing manager and analyst. Diverse background. Trade show experience.

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Only she wasn't talking to an interviewer. She was talking to a TV camera.

After sending resumes, attending networking events and blogging about her search for employment, Dinsmore joined a small but growing number of unemployed people who have made television commercials about themselves to try to get directly into prospective employers' living rooms.

“I figure any exposure I can get is a great thing,” said Dinsmore, a 33-year-old married mother with a newly minted master's degree in marketing from Bentley University.

“The New England Job Show,” a new public cable access production, allows hungry job seekers to record 30-second commercials in a studio at a middle school in Chelmsford, near the New Hampshire state line. Volunteers — all also unemployed — then put the commercials into a half-hour episode that includes discussions on dressing professionally, personal finances and health care options.

About a dozen job seekers have taped commercials, and none has landed a job yet.